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Synopsis

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth with the first of three films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's enduring masterpiece. Set in Middle Earth 60 years before the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, the adventure follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of dwarves on a journey into wild, treacherous lands swarming with beasts of every ilk. Although their goal lies to the East, they must first escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo gains possession of Gollum's "precious" -- a simple, gold ring tied to the fate of all Middle Earth.

My review

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Reviews

4.5

8,578 total

5 5,620

4 1,934

3 631

2 218

1 175

Christopher Orr

It frequently seems as though Jackson was less interested in making The Hobbit than in remaking his own fabulously successful Lord of the Rings series.

Peter Rainer

My first thought in watching The Hobbit was: Do we really need this movie? It was my last thought, too.

Lisa Kennedy

To its own narrative detriment, "The Hobbit" works hard to lay the framework for what will follow. Certainly that's one way to set out on a trilogy, but it's surely not the best.

Richard Roeper

There's no denying the majesty in Peter Jackson's visuals but he's taken a relatively slim children's book and stretched it beyond the limits.

Liam Lacey

The repeated iterations of fight, flight and respite here get wearing. Especially perhaps because, with Jackson's fetish for detail, they take more time to watch on screen than to read about.

Ann Hornaday

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has finally arrived, not on wings of gossamer fancy but with a hairy-footed thud.

Critic reviews

Christopher Orr

It frequently seems as though Jackson was less interested in making The Hobbit than in remaking his own fabulously successful Lord of the Rings series.

Fantastic, Peter Jackson and all the actors at their best. I know it differs from the book in several was (like every other LOTR movie), but honestly that's what makes the films so special and fantastic. I love how it kept me engaged through out the movie, balancing out the action scenes with funny and witty side scenes. Only things that bothered me was that they made the Orcs digital (especially Azog), this was really the first time they did that and the Orcs look blatantly fake. I would've liked it if they made Richard Armitage look more like a genuine Dwarf, he looked more like a short, stocky man. He did put on a great performance as Thorin. The actor who played Balin looked and sounded exactly as I had imagined him. And Ian McKellin as Gandalf never ceases to blow Dumbledore or any other wizard out of the water. I'm glad they started to show off his magical abilities for once. I loved the riddles in the dark scene, that scene is one that'll go down as one of the best of the decade. Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis were sensational also. A 5 out of 5 despite the minor issues.

The Hobbit: A Journey We Expected “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (the movie) was released on December 14, 2012. It was no doubt one of the most highly anticipated movies to come out in cinemas in 2012. It was based of the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and is also intertwined with the Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien. “An Unexpected Journey” is one of a trilogy of movies, as if the makers of this movie are trying to extract all that is left of Tolkien’s work in three movies. The story is fabricated upon a mythical land consisting of dwarves, elves, hobbits, dragons and many more. In the movie Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, and a group of dwarves go on an adventure to take back a dragon hoard that is rightfully theirs. Along the way they encounter many challenges and predicaments. Bilbo must prove himself to be worthy of the expedition while trying to stay alive. Some challenges include a troll, goblins, and even a time when Bilbo is separated from the group and must fight to stay alive by answering riddles to a strange creature named Gollum. Thorin, the leader of the group of dwarves also expresses his distaste and annoyance of Bilbo very openly. Although, in the movie it did seem that Tho

The Lord of the Rings Saga is one of my favorite film and book series' of all time that I've loved since I was a child. The Lord of the Rings films did something thought impossible, they brought Epic Fantasy to the big screen, even winning several Oscars along the way. The LotR trilogy has a charm to it that Jackson was unfortunately unable to recreate, for the most part. The first film this hobbit trilogy is the best of the three, by a pretty large margin. An Unexpected Journey is the only film in the trilogy that recaptures part of the charm of the book and the original LotR trilogy. There's a lot of changes here from the book, which is to be expected. I usually don't mind changes during the transition to film from book, they are two different mediums and changes need to be made in places. However, all of the changes in this trilogy are just.....bad. There are couple things that are absolutely perfect about this film. 1. The Casting. and......(spoiler warning for an 80 year old book) 2. The Gollum Riddle Scene was executed perfectly. The film is loaded with pacing problems but overall is a solid 3/5, but it only gets worse from here.

Fresh take on an old tale. Let me start out by saying i am a die hard fan of the books. I read them as a child and it sparked my imagination. That being said none of the movies Peter Jackson made are those. How could he do that it basically would be plagiarism! Plus, if we are all being honest, a true to form book to silver screen production would've been like 10 movies. With that in mind I believe Peter Jackson did an excellent job in making the story fit on the silver screen. Yes it isn't the original story, but it holds the same base line as the original and keeps it fresh for everyone else. In my opinion this is going to be a good series with a few twists that, especially for those of us who have read the books, we wont see coming...and that I look forward to.

I am no purist As eye candy you can't beat it but as an author and artist there comes a time when you have to stand and be counted. When an artist renders his work he expects criticism and should welcome it. But to have someone come along and change it fundamentally is just plain wrong. The world was outraged when Turner was colorizing movies. Where the moral outrage? Jackson has changed the story. One cannot reprint a classic and end it as they wish and call it their own. Why is Hollywood any different?

Such a disappointment... I consider myself a HUGE Tolkien fan. I'm also a huge fan of Peter Jackson's vision and translation of LotR but this movie was an abomination. It was as though George Lucas had a hand in its production for all the useless, contrived and overtly gratuitous hamming of several scenes. The chase scene in the goblin mines??? Come on, Peter. It was like one reviewer mentioned, a scene better left on the Indiana Jones cutting room floor. Absolutely pathetic and such a disappointment.

Based on a true story... Based on a true story... I don't mean based on real-life events. This echo of the books is based on good solid story-telling. It fails, at least as the first three movies, to even resemble the atmosphere and deeper meaning of Tolkien's book. Tolkien's genius was not in slapstick humor of dwarves belching and a lonely hobbit deciding on a whim to go "on an adventure". It feels like the plot was made for an 8 year old, yet the violate graphical nature is somewhat mature. A young fresh version would be true to the air of the book, or a modern mature rendering would also be acceptable. However, it ends up really silly at times, and bloated with non-Tolkien material almost all the time. I have some hope for the next two in the series since the Lord of the Rings trilogy was done quite well. Yet, if this film was any sign of things to come, I will truly lament the missed chance Jackson had to produce a well-told story.

A Far Cry from LOTR They should have kept this to 2 movies. All the added appendix stories really dragged the adventure of Bilbo Baggins down. Radagast, Galadriel, the Necromancer, the orc warlord, and Saruman just diverted attention from the story. It made the movie feel as long as it really was. LOTR never did that. Also, the portrayal of the dwarves was awful. With the exception of Thorin, they were all one dimensional comedic relief characters, and their action scenes were mostly pratfalls and farce. Very disappointing.

Could have been great I had hoped this would be up to the standards of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Instead it's like watching a kiddie movie. Goofy (a rabbit drawn sled?), corny poor and out of place attempts at humor with a script and dialog that's enough to make you grown. Not nearly as good as it should have been. A disappointingly below average movie.

There are few artists but many critics I love the scene from History of the World Part I when the first cave painting by man is created. Immediately after, the first critic appears, smugly considers the cave painting and pees on it. The Hobbit was a great movie. The production was first rate, the score was brilliant, the acting again, first rate. Too long? fine. A twenty minute trim might have made it better. Otherwise, it was a very good movie.....but like any subjective piece, you would ask "compared to what?". Inevitably to the near perfect LOTR. I am sure had this been Peter Jackson's first movie based on a Tolkien book, much of the whining would be abscent. I said it was a great movie, not a perfect movie. If you paid to see the movie and didn't like it, fine, it didn't meet your stratospheric standards for film. Pan it and move on. .......or, try and create something yourself.

The hobbit is not the lord of the rings When rating this you have to remember that the hobbit is the beginning of the story, not a prequel. The hobbit was written as an older children's book and then the lord of the rings books were written later for those same readers when they got a little older. The the story is supposed to be a little silly and goofy which it is. Only thing I didn't like is that it's supposed to end up as a trilogy instead of one movie.

Serious disappointment I really loved Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" principally because he followed the story so faithfully. So imagine my disappointment at seeing The Hobbit gratuitously padded with characters who are pulled straight from Melville's "Moby Dick" and chase scenes that would have wound up on the cutting room floor of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Aweful.

Hope I will live to see them all.... I like that fact there is a variety of action in this saga, but I am upset the story stops with the dragon opening his eye. Yikes, why do we have to wait so long for another film? Why? Poor planning in a sequence of films but EXCELLENT ACTORS who make the woes of Middle Earth something we can relate to. The film is an excellent vehicle to teach (in a small way) the character traits of hero’s that are small and humble. Yeah Bilbo, yeah Gandalf, (OK Dwarves), and yeah Elves who think of others and not just gold or Hollywood (TMZ). Waiting for the next film…hope I will live to see them all.

Watch out Lord of the Rings trilogy.. Watch out! I was a huge fan of Lord of the Rings when it first came out. I find my self at a loss of words at this movie. My friends ( who read the book said the hobbit was always better) I never believed until this movie came out. It keeps your attention from start to finish best of all its the little things mentioned from the trilogy you get to heat about. The gobiln king, sauruman before he turned evil, we even see Gladriel have impact on Gandalf... I, myself am looking forward to the sequal.

Long Great story and fun to watch. It dragged on in some places but was an overall pleasure to watch. I think going from the last movie in this universe where we see everyone max level to seeing them at level one makes some of the sequences seem underwhelming. In Lord of the Rings we saw entire armies of 10,000 soldiers duke it out and here we see the plight of a few dwarves. Ignoring my sub-conscience's desire to see larger and more elaborate battles and scale from the LotR universe; The Hobbit is a wonderful movie that I think most will enjoy.

What was Peter Jackson thinking. I am going to flat out say that he made up 90% of the movie. The only reason I give this 2 stars is because it might work out if it were just a movie had the book never been written.

Terrible Couldn't even watch past about 45 minutes - ultra commercialized. I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson did another one called Alien v. Predator v. Hobbit. You would think with all the money he had already made he wouldn't sell out so quickly . . .

Good storytelling, idiotic action sequences I thought the storytelling was pretty good and didn't get so caught up over where the movie deviated from the book. HOWEVER, the action and battle scenes were predictable and so bad that they were almost insulting. The whole white orc thing was just dumb. I can't imagine any of the action in this movie appealing to anyone over the age of 11.

Predictable, unimaginative, awful From the terrible casting of all the new characters, the acting, to a highly unimaginative and predictable script, this inaugural video is even worse than Jackson's 2nd LOTR film (the latter of which is only worth watching for the Ents and the Legolas/Gimly banter). Sorry, but the casting of the dwarves, Bilbo the younger, and the whole Goblin (err Ork) fiasco just don't cut it. Unless something drastically changes in the next 2 films in this series, there's no chance we'll watch them.

Amazing Even though i didnt see the movie or read the book, i read the book of the second one and its a lot like the first one. It is a amazing story writen by the genius J.R.R Tolkien, unfortenely he passed away and ofcourse we all want him to still be alive and play with our imaginations. The only thing about reading the book before watching the movie is that it kind of migh dissapoint you because you might imagine the characters or the scenes way differently. Please dont get me wrong, this is a amazing movie.

A little inaccurate There were a few things that weren't spot on such as the passage of time in the beginning, but overall it was pretty good. Sad to see most of the negative reviews here not sharing any actual critique. The movie's best feature was definitely the environment. It was great to visit Middle-Earth again. Though I agree with some that it dragged on at points, bur not enough to completely ruin my enjoyment of the movie.

Booo This is a disgrace to LOTR. This is only a adventure with only three or five small battle scenes. When you can whatch epic battle scenes at"Helms Deep," or "Minas Tirith," even the cave scene of the "Fellowship of the Ring." Sides I couldnt stand that gollem is only in one scene when they have hundreds of scenes of gollem.

Some old, some new As a kid I read the book at least three times so the new/additional content took some getting used to. Some criticize it being stretched out into three movies but I really enjoyed this. Edit: Re-reading the book and it feels new to me, last time was 20+ years ago. Realize now how different it is but understand some things that work in a book don't work in a movie, some of the changes may even be for the better.

Not Great, Not Awful The acting and overall story were pretty good, but some of the dialog was too hammy. The camera work was nauseating at times. The action scenes had too many just in the nick of time rescues. The orcs, goblins, and trolls just seemed off.

Just a money grab This is one of the shortest things that Tolkien wrote, and yet it was stretched out into 3 movies. It would have been a two part at best. Tons of unnecessary story, some kind of screwed out dwarf/elf love story, the bunny sled... Need I say more? Read the book, it will take a few hours on an afternoon.

Exceeded my expectations I was initially upset that they were going to make 3 movies out of a short children's story... So I initially avoided this movie... I had purchased the original series and the extended versions so this initially came off as a cash grab... Peter Jackson and crew however have created a work that seamlessly ties the Lord of the Rings to the hobbit in a way that extends both works in a fascinating way... This movie is a great start...

No Hobbit sell thru yet? Google, you are far and away the underdog in providing movie content to the digital market and your decision to play games with your customers by offering a title like Hobbit only in rental until demand wains proves your ignorance and stupidity. This is a sell thru market title. Your competition is offering it as such right away. Many people have multiple tablets. They don't, have to wait for Google. Having owned a retail video store for 8 years, I have knowledge about this subject of sell thru vs rental.

From hating it to loving it. I originally watched this in theaters and did not like it, but this year in 2016 I decided to give it another shot and my opinion changed. If nothing else it was just a fun adventure movie in general. I love how Jackson was able to recapture the feel of Middle Earth. It's not perfect by any means but It's entertaining and It is a has a really good balance of action, comedy, character and emotion. It especially is best watched with the other 2 films.

Just like olden days Oh my gosh!!! All of the actors look the same as they did like 10 years ago!!!! I even TRIED to look for inaccuracies, but there were none! Technology moves forward. Great movie. I look forward to the next movie!

Welcome to Middle Earth Way better than LOTR. The film makes it hard to follow all of the characters (dwarves). The epic scale is all there. The score, the cast, the pace. Rent it, buy it, or read the book. Just know this story.

Meh. Put an epic book, great actors, totally stupid and unnecessary characters (looking at you, Radagast!!), and TONS of video game CGI into Peter Jackson's money making blender and this is what you get. +1 for not being as terrible as the second one. Minus that one again for the fact that they decided to make a short children's book into 3 (supposedly) epic movies.

Meh... White orc? My God, the book hands you a gem you don't need to alter, and you throw in some stupid BS about an albino Captain-Hook-wannabe orc? I'm just crawling with excitement to see the other 2 garbage can movies...

Cheap Attempt From the musical score that was a near, if not exact copy of that used in the LoTR trilogy to the overly vibrant cinematography, to the fact that the entire film seemed to consist solely of consecutive seens of the main characters surviving impossible falls, this trilogy of one book is clearly a sad greedy grab at a few more dollars, by Warner Brothers. Not on par with the other Tolkien-based films in the same genre, and not even worth the rental fee!

Great movie This is a great movie. Tolkien purists may complain that it deviated from the text of the book which it does. But it gets a lot of it right. Most importantly the more light hearted tone of The Hobbit comes through. I loved the crazy chase under the mountain. I even enjoyed the non-canon rabbit sleigh. Was there additions to the book? Yes. Did it make the movie worse? Not noticeably to this Ringer. Great movie. Can't wait for the next installment.

Horrible The Hobbit was an amazing story by a genius of an author. The Hobbit movie was nothing short of a blatant molestation. Poorly cast, CG heavy and a completely warped story. This movie, along with the proceeding two, should never have been done. Hopefully, we will see someone come along that can revisit this story for the cinema and give it the respect and representation it deserves.